JHARKHAND: Neelam Devi, 37, who took to paddy cultivation due to the traditional Ragi crop’s low productivity and demand, has for the last one year, shifted back to it and planted it in two acres of land as it has now become profitable.
This is thanks to the initiative taken by the district administration in Gumla, which has encouraged more than 25,000 farmers for cultivation of Ragi by distributing free high-quality seeds to them covering 30,000 acres of land. The initiative was the brainchild of former deputy commissioner Sushant Gaurav, for which Gumla was also conferred with the ‘Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration’ that recognises exemplary work by civil servants across the country.
Gumla, which once was a Maoist hotbed and grappled with malnutrition, is now witnessing a silent revolution. Earlier, its economy revolved around rain-fed one-crop agriculture based on paddy, but people are now cultivating high-quality Ragi on over 30,000 acres of land. The products made with Ragi include laddoos, bhujia, mixture and flour which helped address the rampant malnutrition among the people as it is rich in protein, calcium and iron. Ragi processing units, owned and operated exclusively by the self-help group (SHG) women, ensure a daily production of one tonne of Ragi flour, 300 packets of laddoos and 200 packets of snacks under the brand ‘Johar’.
The then deputy commissioner of Gumla Sushant Gaurav said that proper guidance at different levels was given to the farmers during the cultivation and collected at 17 centres from which it was taken to the Ragi processing centres for which machines of different capacities were brought and production of Ragi aata was started.
“All of a sudden, its demand increased and started giving a better return to the farmers. Looking at its success, we procured 50 tonnes of best Ragi seeds from Karnataka and distributed them for free among the farmers. It was sown in 3,600 acres of land the next year,” he said. It is like a silent revolution in Gumla which is likely to become a big business model for the entire country at some point of time, he felt.
Gaurav added that it is a self-sustaining model. “We have set up a Ragi processing centre in Gumla, which is the first in Jharkhand. Ragi laddoos, Bhujia snacks and flour are being produced which help deal with malnutrition and anaemia,” Gaurav said.
The then district agriculture officer (DAO) Ashok Kumar Sinha acknowledged Gaurav’s contribution to the revival of the local farmers’ interest in Ragi. “Ragi cultivation, which was done earlier in 1,500 hectares of land, increased up to 3,500 hectares,” he said.
With the help of SHGs associated with Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS), seeds were sown with the help of CLF and value addition was done after procuring the produce,” he added.
The women from the SHG, according to Sinha, were also exposed to the business being done in other states like Chhattisgarh where Ragi cultivation is successfully being carried out.
“Ragi was also used in catering to the rampant malnutrition in Gumla and laddoos made of Ragi were supplied to the Anganwadi centers which will eventually help in the eradication of anemia among the children,” said Sinha. Ramesh Kumar, a public policy fellow associated with the Ragi mission, said that a millet café has also been opened in Gumla which is seeing daily sale of more than Rs 2,000.
Jai Singh Barla, associated with Jharkhand JSLPS, which has been providing training to the women of Farmer Producer Companies (FPC) and also involved in marketing plan for them, said that production of Ragi has been increasing every year.
“Looking at the increasing business of Ragi, we have hired a marketing manager as we want to supply the produce both inside and outside Jharkhand for the next year as production of Ragi has been increasing every year. Now, Ragi cultivation is being done in all the 12 blocks of Gumla involving 25,000 farmers covering 30,000 acres of land,” said Barla. 50 metric tons of seeds were procured and distributed among the individuals after carrying out proper mapping of the farmers, he added.
“Earlier, we were dependent on paddy cultivation only but now, they have been making additional income of nearly Rs 30,000 per month through Ragi, which has actually changed their lives,” said Neelam Devi. Out of the Ragi cultivation in two acres of land, she expects to get about 20 quintals of Ragi which will be sold in the market for a minimum price of Rs 2,500 per quintal, he added.
“The district administration has also provided a godown of 10,000 square feet to us which has been converted as a processing unit where we do value addition to Ragi and produce different products like aata, bhujia, mixture, laddoo, thekua, cookies etc,” said Neelam Devi, who is also a board member of farmer produce company (FPC). Another beneficiary, Bhagwati Devi, said that Ragi, which was once considered as worthless, was now giving them double the profit compared to paddy.